BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Plenty of high schoolers have their hands full with academics and extracurricular activities already, but we found one special teenager who is already a self-published author focusing on the science behind saving animals.
Whether she is practicing piano before a big competition or dancing her heart out at community events, 16-year-old Anneliese Hsiao is obsessed with pets.
“I have always loved animals,” she said. “People used to call me the dog whisperer even though I wasn’t allowed to have a dog at home.”
But this precocious teen is painfully persistent.
“I wrote a little notebook worth of all the reasons why we should get a dog, all the breeds that would be suitable for a house, like a Westie,” she said.
And within months, her mom brought home an adorable little girl named Mochi, followed by her brother Matcha.
“Animals are drawn to her and she is drawn to animals, it’s always been that way,” said Leslie Hsiao, Anneliese’s mother.
Which is what brought Anneliese Hsiao to the Humane Society of Broward County when she was just five years old.
She had been volunteering there for years when she came up with an idea to combine her love for animals with her Girl Scout projects.
“So I decided to make my Girl Scout Silver Award also with the Humane Society and I crocheted blankets for the dogs who only had towels in their kennels,” said Anneliese Hsiao.
But of course, now it was time for the Gold Aard.
“This is my pet safety book, it has four chapters about heat, wildlife, plants, and natural disasters,” Anneliese Hsiao said as she showed Local 10 Animal Advocate Jacey Birch her book.
Anneliese Hsiao is a junior at American Heritage High School and she collaborated with Humane Society staff to write and publish a book about all the things pet parents need to know about keeping their furry little ones safe in South Florida, where 30% of pet deaths are preventable.
“Someone so young, so mature that was able to put together such a useful resource for pet owners, it was wonderful to be able to work with her,” said Dr. Cynthia Rogers with the Humane Society of Broward County Veterinarian. “We helped Anneliese, but she is helping us because we’re providing this resource to all of our adopters.”
That includes situations like if a pet pup goes after a Bufo toad, which can be deadly to a dog.
“My science research project my freshman year of high school, I tried to look for treatments to Bufo toad toxin ingestion,” said Alleliese Hsiao.
Added Leslie Hsiao: “Annie’s always been exceptional at everything she does, she puts her whole heart into everything.”
Now the young science lover is on a pre-med track for her senior year. She is going to be a Girl Scout adviser and role model to younger scouts and she has plans to be a veterinary surgeon one day.
“It’s just crazy to think I could do something like this and it’s really taught me I’m able to make a change and others are too,” she said.
